Knicks’ five-game winning streak is over. All that was needed was a confrontation with the top team in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics missed Jayson Tatum and looked at everything, and the Knicks took advantage and brought energy to run away with a dominant 105-75 victory on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
The Knicks (6-8) never went, leading by up to 37 points, to get out of funk and give coach Tom Thibodeau a gift for his 63rd birthday. The defense led the way, keeping the Celtics (8-4) at a minimum in points.
Despite their recent struggles, the Knicks now have explosive victories over the Celtics and Bucks, two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Julius Randle (20 points, 12 rebounds), RJ Barrett (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Immanuel Quickley (17 points, eight assists) fueled the Knicks, while Obi Toppin scored 12 career points in the winning effort.
Against the background of questions about the band’s agitation, Thibodeau remained with the same five initials and came out strong from the top to establish an early lead. Randle and Barrett combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter, while the Knicks headed for a 28-17 lead after opening 12 minutes.
Jaylen Brown kept the Celtics in the game early, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, but otherwise seemed sloppy earlier after playing just one game last week due to COVID-19 problems.
Mitchell Robinson, after sustaining a heel as a contusion on Friday against the Knights, remained in the Knicks’ starting line, but was quickly hit again. In the middle of the first quarter, Robinson blocked a 3-pointer from Jeff Teague, but landed hard, with nothing to support his fall. He returned in the second trimester, but seemed to be moving slowly.
The Celtics reached six points, 35-29, in the middle of the second quarter, but Quickley gave another shake from the bench to fuel a Knicks wave. The rookie defender set up an alley-oop for Toppin, then injured the Celtics with three floats on the next five possessions to take a 44-29 lead, while Quickley accumulated 11 points in the second quarter alone.
The Knicks took a 48-35 lead until the break, with 35 points scoring a season low in points allowed in a half.
Thibodeau’s crew offered no disappointment to start the second half, following a 10-0 run to start the third quarter and closing any chance of the Celtics returning.
Kemba Walker, the Bronx native, whom the Knicks missed in the summer of 2019, made his debut in the season after suffering a knee injury. It looked very rusty, though, contributing to the harsh Celtic afternoon.